とうとう means "finally" or "in the end": after a long time or a long run of
events, something happens. It is an adverb, placed at the start of the clause
or just before the verb, and the verb is almost always in the past.
。
My dream finally came true.
、。
After studying for three years, I finally passed the exam.
。
It finally started raining.
The result can be good or bad. The last two sentences are things nobody
wanted; とうとう only says that they came at the end of a long build-up.
Never happened in the end
With a negative verb, とうとう says that the thing you were waiting for did
not happen, right to the end.
。
In the end, he never came.
、。
I waited, but in the end the bus never came.
とうとう, ついに or やっと
means the same and also takes good or bad results and a negative
verb. It sounds more dramatic and suits writing, headlines and
announcements; とうとう is the one you hear in conversation.
is for a result you wanted and were relieved to get. It does not
fit something unwelcome, such as rain on the day of a picnic.
。
I finally finished work.
- × やっと雨が降り出した → とうとう雨が降り出した
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